Forming mill drive



FORMING MILL DRIVE Filed June 13,1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS N m MTD R L O L Km A m I m F Fan. 6, 1970 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 13,1968 ATTORNS United States Patent 3,487,707 FORMING MILL DRIVE WilliamA. Kortan, North Olmsted, Ohio, assignor to The Yoder Company,Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed June 13, 1968, Ser. No.736,699 Int. Cl. F16h 35/00, 57/00 U.S. Cl. 74-384 19 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE This invention relates generally as indicated to aforming mill drive and more particularly to an improved mill drive for aroll forming head, the top shaft of which may easily be disconnected orits speed changed.

A conventional roll forming head or stand includes a top shaft which isdriven from a bottom shaft by means of a spur gear train. The trainincludes two idler gears which are connected to the top shaft by atoggle linkage and this maintains the gears in mesh running on theirdesigned pitch diameters regardless of the center distance of theshafts. In this manner, the top shaft is able to separate from thebottom shaft in a vertical direction by, for example, a distance fromabout 4 to about 8 inches.

Normal top to bottom gear ratios are either equal (1 to 1) or somethingon the order of 1.8 to 1. The ratio selected accommodates the mosteffective and economical roller die design. In a job shop type of rollforming operation, it is frequently required that there be many sets ofrolls involved, and that the gearing must be changed from equal tounequal ratio or vice versa quite often. In order to do this in theabove described conventional rolling mill head, it is necessary toremove the toggle links, idler and driven gears, and replace them withthe opposite ratio set of gears and links. Occasions are frequentlyencountered where it is necessary to idle the top shaft because of thepitch diameters of the roller dies employed and in this case it is thennecessary to remove a toggle link pin and withdraw the top idler spurgear and its related parts and then replace the link pin in the links.It can thus be seen that the shifting from equal to unequal gear ratiosor the idling of the top shaft has required the disassembly andreassembly of the spur gear train and has thus entailed considerablemachine down time.

It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to providea forming mill in which the gear ratios of the top to bottom shaft mayeasily be changed or in which the top shaft may be idled withoutrequiring any significant mill down time.

Another principal object is the provision of a forming mill wherein itis possible to change the gear ratio of the top to bottom shaft, orcompletely idle the top shaft without removing or changing anycomponents of the mill drive.

A further object is the provision of a mill drive of the type abovedescribed utilizing dual faced gearing with the such gear on the topshaft merely being shifted to change the gear ratio or completely idlethe top shaft.

Still another object is the provision of a shaft to shaft forming milldrive wherein one shaft may be idled simply by rotating the position ofan idle gear mounting.

A yet further object is the provision of a forming mill greatlyfacilitating the changing of roller die sets thus 3,487,707 PatentedJan. 6, 197@ making a roll forming mill more economical in a job shopoperation.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention,then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims, the following description andthe annexed drawings setting forth in detail certain illustrativeembodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but afew of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may beemployed.

In said annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section taken axially of the vertically spacedshafts of one form of roll .forming head or stand in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical fragmentary transaxial section taken substantiallyalong the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the gear drive between thetop and bottom shafts taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section of the top shaft dual face gear takensubstantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section similar to FIG. 2 showinganother form of the present invention utilizing a special mounting forthe top idler gear to facilitate the idling of the top shaft;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the embodiment of FIG. 5taken substantially on the line 66 thereof; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged end elevation of the mounting of the top idlergear as seen from the line 77 of FIG. 6.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a roll forminghead or roll stand for a forming mill which includes top and bottomshafts 10 and 11 on which are mounted roller dies 12 and 13,respectively, for the roll forming of work W. The work W is illustratedas a tubular product, but it will be appreciated that a wide variety ofshapes may be formed by passing elongated strip material through aplurality of such roll forming heads progressively to form the stripinto the desired product.

The roll shafts 10 and 11 are journalled at opposite ends in inboard andoutboard stands 14 and 15, the former being a gear head housing. Thelower roll shaft 11 is journalled at 16 in the outboard stand 15 and at17 and 18 at opposite sides of the gear head housing or inboard stand14. In addition to the journals indicated the lower roll shaft includesa shaft nut 19, spacers 20 and 21 for the roller dies 13, and spacers22, 23 and 24 within the inboard gear head housing 14 which position andspace spur gear 26 and worm gear 27 which are secured to such shaft 11.The worm gear 27 is in mesh with worm 28 mounted on line shaft segment29, which as seen in FIG. 2 may be secured through coupling 30 toadditional shaft segments and thus drive as many roll forming heads orstands as are used to form the roll forming mill. Power is supplied toeach of the roll formin heads in the mill through the line shaft. Theline shaft segment 29 is journalled as indicated at 31 and 32 in thegear head inboard housing 14.

The top roll shaft 10 is journalled at 34 and 35 in blocks 36 and 37which are mounted in windows 38 and 39 of the outboard and inboardhousings, respectively, for vertical movement. Such vertical movement isobtained by rotation of nuts 41 and 42 which are in mesh with thethreaded portions of rods 43 and 44, respectively, pin secured to theblocks 36 and 37. Rotation of such nuts is facilitated by the use ofcrank handles 45 seen more clearly in FIG. 2 and lock nuts 46 and 47 maybe employed to secure the position of the shaft 10 in its desiredvertical adjustment.

In addition to the journals 34 and 35 shown, the top roll shaft includesshaft nut 49, spacers 50 and 51 for the roller die 12, and on the endprojecting within the gear head or inboard housing 14, a sleeve 52 keyedto such shaft as indicated at 53. Beyond such sleeve there is provided aroller bearing 55 held in place by lock washer and nut 56 secured to theend of the shaft 10.

The bearing 55 journals on the end of the shaft 10 an offset toggle link58 as seen in FIG. 3 which supports one end of pin 59. The opposite endof the pin 59 is supported by toggle link 60 pivotally secured to hub 61surrounding the sleeve 52 adjacent the block 37. The pin 59 is alsosupported by toggle links 62 and 63, the latter being offset asindicated in FIG. 3, such links extending between the pin 59 and stubshaft 64 mounted in bosses 65 and 66 at the interior and exterior,respectively, of the inboard stand or gear housing 14.

A double faced idler gear 68 is journalled on the shaft 64 by means ofroller bearing 69 between the toggle links 62 and 63 and the smallerface of such gear is in mesh with the spur or drive gear 26 on thebottom roll shaft 11. The larger face of the double faced gear 68 is inmesh with the smaller face of double faced gear 70 journalled on pin 59by roller bearing 71. Such double faced gear is positioned between thelinks 62 and 63 with the former including a spacing hub 72. Power isthus transmitted from the bottom roll shaft 11 through the spur gear 26to the bottom dual face idler gear 68 to the top dual face idler gear 70and then to a top drive gear 74 having laterally spaced dual faces 75and 76. The distance separating the two faces 75 and 76 of the top drivegear 74 is slightly greater than the Width of the dual face idler gear70, the two faces of which are adjacent to each other. The top drivegear 74 is keyed to the top shaft, also by means of the key 53, but isfree to slide on the sleeve 52. The top drive gear 74 is held in any oneof three selected positions as determined by locking set screw 78 intoone of three annular grooves 79, 80 and 81 in the sleeve 52.

With the top drive gear 74 slid to the left-hand position as seen inFIG. 3, and the set screw 78 in the left-hand annular groove 79 of thesleeve 52, the smaller gear face 76 is meshed with the larger gear faceof the top idler gear 70, and followin through the gear train, the topand bottom shafts would be rotating at the same r.p.m. and hence wouldbe equal geared.

By shifting the top gear 74 to the middle position so that the set screw78 is located in the center groove 80 of the sleeve 52, neither of thetwo faces 75 and 76 are in mesh with the top idler gear 70 andaccordingly the top shaft 10 is free to idle and run at its own speed.By shifting the top gear 74 to the extreme right-hand position as seenin FIG. 3 so that the set screw 78 is in the righthand groove 81 asindicated by the phantom line position 83, the large face 75 of the topdrive gear 74 is in mesh with the smaller face of the top idler gear 70,and following through the gear train, the top and bottom shafts are thenrotating at different r.p.m.s and are thus unequally geared.

The inboard or gear head housing 14 is provided with a cover 84 whichcan readily be removed to provide access to the set screw 78 so that thegear 74 may readily be shifted to any one of the three selectedpositions. It is also noted that a flexible boot 85 is provided betweenthe shaft journals 35 and 17 for the top and bottom roll shafts,respectively, to protect the interior of the gear housing fromcontamination.

With this invention, the top shaft 10 is able to separate from thebottom shaft 11 in a vertical direction which may, for example, be adistance from about 4 to about 8 inches and the gears 26, 68, 70 and 74are always held in mesh regardless of the center distance of the shaftsby the pair of toggle links 58, 60 and 62, 63. This toggle linkageensures that the gears always run on their design pitch diameters. Itcan thus be seen that with this embodiment of the invention, it ispossible to change the gear ratio of the top to bottom shaft, orcompletely idle the top shaft without removing or changing anycomponents. This 18 accomplished simply by shifting the top dual faceddrive gear 74.

THE EMBODIMENT OF FIGS. 5, 6 AND 7 While most roll formed shapes can berun with one or two gear ratios, it is frequently encountered in jobshop type roll forming operations, that rolls involving many differentratios are tooled for short production runs and that if the toolingratio does not match the built in gear ratio, it is necessary todisconnect the top roll shaft and run only with the bottom shaft driven.This, of course, can be accomplished in the embodiment of this inventionillustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 by placing the top gear in its centeror neutral position. In many cases, particularly in job shops, there maynot be a need for both a two speed and idle drive. A more desirabledrive might be one that gives but a single gear ratio and the ability toidle the top shaft whenever needed. This type of a much more simplifieddrive is shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 through 7.

Referring first to FIGS. 5 and 6, it Will be seen that the top rollshaft is positioned vertically above the driven bottom roll shaft 91 andas in the FIG. 1 embodiment, the top roll shaft may be moved vertically.The top roll shaft 90 is driven from the bottom roll shaft by a spurgear train which includes a gear 92 mounted on the bottom shaft in meshwith a bottom idler gear 93 journalled on stub shaft 94 by means of theroller bearing 95 seen in FIG. 6. A pair of outwardly offset togglelinks 96 and 97 extend from the stub shaft 94 to toggle pin 98. A topidler gear 99 is journalled by means of roller bearing 100 on thecircular center portion 101 of the toggle pin 98. Toggle links 102 and103 extend from the center portion 101 of the pin 98 to the top rollshaft 90. A gear 105 is keyed to such shaft and is in mesh with the topidler gear 99.

The toggle pin 98 includes two circular end portions 108 and 109concentric with each other journalling the pin for rotation in thetoggle links 96 and 97. These end portions 108 and 109 are, however,eccentric with respect to the center portion 101 of the pin to which thelinks 102 and 103 are connected. The idler gear 99 as well as the links102 and 103 are mounted concentrically of the center portion 101 of thepin. Therefore, any rotation of the pin will not disturb the pitch linecenter distance between the top idler gear 99 and the top drive gear105. As seen in FIG. 7, the distance between the center A of theconcentric circular portions 108 and 109 and the center B of the centereccentric circular portion 101 may, for example, be a distance ofapproximately & of an inch which is equivalent to slightly 'more thantwice the addendum of the spur gear tooth form.

In order to disengage the gear train, it is only necessary to rotate thepin 98 through and this will have the effect of moving the gears 93 and99 apart sufficiently to disengage them. To facilitate this rotation ofthe pin, the right-hand end of the pin as seen in FIG. 6 is squared asindicated at 111 and a keeper plate 112 adapted to engage the flats ofthe square is mounted on the link 97 through the dual slot and fastenerconnection 113 seen more clearly in FIG. 7. In this manner when thekeeper plate is loosened and moved away from the pin it is possible torotate the pin through 180 and then reset the keeper 112. The half turnrotation causes the two idler gears 93 and 99 to become separated andthe top shaft 90 is then free to idle.

It can now be seen that there is provided an improved roll forming headwhich includes a toggle linkage gear train drivingly interconnecting thetop and bottom shafts whereby the speed of the top shaft mayconveniently be changed or the drive thereto disconnected.

I, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as invention:

1. A roll forming head comprising vertically spaced roller die shafts,means vertically to adjust the position of the top shaft, and a togglelinkage gear train drivingly interconnecting said shafts including meanoperative to disconnect said top shaft.

2. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lastmentioned means comprises an eccentric pin in said gear train on whichone of the gears thereof is journalled.

3. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 2 including means to rotateand contra-rotate said pin 180. to engage and disengage adjacent gearsin said train.

4. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 3 including opposite flatson one end of said pin, and a retractible keeper plate bearing againstsaid flats to maintain said pin in its selected position.

5. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 2 wherein said gear trainincludes a pair of toggle links pivoted at one end to said top shaft, adrive gear on said top shaft therebetween, said eccentric pin extendingbetween the other ends of said links and having journalled thereon anidler gear in mesh with said drive gear, said links and idler gear beingmounted on a circular portion of said pin having one center, said pinbeing supported at another center thereof with respect to another gearin said train, whereby said idler gear and said other gear may be movedtoward and away from each other by rotation of said pin.

6. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 5 including an offset shaftparallel to said bottom shaft on which said other gear is journalled, adrive gear on said bottom shaft in mesh with said other gear, and asecond pair of toggle links extending from said offset shaft to saideccentric pin, said second pair of toggle links being pivoted to saidpin at said other center thereof.

7. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lastmentioned means comprises a gear on said top shaft, and means to slidesaid gear therealong to disengage said gear from the adjacent gear insaid train thus to disconnect said top shaft.

8. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 7 wherein said gear on saidtop shaft includes two axially spaced faces having different pitchdiameters, the adjacent gear in said train also having two faces ofdifferent pitch diameter, each being adapted to mesh with one of thefaces on the gear on the top shaft, and means to slide said gear on saidtop shaft along said top shaft to engage the faces thereof with therespective faces of said adjacent gear thus to change the speed of saidtop shaft.

9. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 8 including a sleeve onsaid top shaft on which said gear on said shaft is supported for slidingmovement, and means interconnecting said gear and sleeve properly toposition said gear with respect to said adjacent gear to change thespeed of said top shaft or to disconnect said top shaft from said geartrain.

10. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 9 wherein said sleeveincludes axially spaced annular grooves, and a set screw in said gear onsaid top shaft operative to fit within a selected one of said grooves tohold said gear in the selected position on said sleeve.

11. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 7 wherein said adjacentgear is supported on a pair of toggle links extending from said topshaft, an offset shaft adjacent said bottom shaft, said adjacent gearalso being supported by a pair of toggle links extending from saidoffset shaft.

12. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 11 including a drive gearon said bottom shaft, an idler gear journalled on said offset shaft andin mesh therewith, a pin supported by said toggle links between saidoffset shaft and said top shaft, said adjacent gear being journalled onsaid pin and in mesh with the idler gear on said offset shaft and thegear on said top shaft.

13. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 12 wherein said adjacentgear and the gear on said top shaft are dual faced gears whereby thespeed of the top shaft may be changed by sliding the gear therealong.

14. A roll forming head as setforth in claim 1 wherein said lastmentioned means comprises means operative axially to shift one of thegears in said train to disconnect said top shaft.

15. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 14 wherein the shiftablegear and the adjacent gear have dual faces whereby the speed of the topshaft may be changed upon shifting of said gear.

16. A roll forming head including top and bottom roller die shaftsjournalled between inboard and outboard stands, means to raise and lowersaid top shaft with respect to said bottom shaft, said top shaft beingdriven from said bottom shaft through a toggle linkage gear train insaid inboard stand, and means operative axially to shift one of thegears of said train to change the speed of said top shaft with respectto said bottom shaft or to disconnect the same.

17. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 16 wherein said one of thegears is on said top shaft and includes two faces, the adjacent gear insaid train also including two faces, the two faces of said one gearbeing separated by a distance slightly greater than the width of thedual faced adjacent idler gear.

18. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 17 including a sleeve onsaid top shaft supporting said one of said gears thereon, and meansinterconnecting said sleeve and one gear to position said one gear inthree selected positions, the middle position disconnecting said top andbottom shafts.

19. A roll forming head as set forth in claim 18 wherein said meansinterconnecting said sleeve and one gear comprises annular slots in saidsleeve and a set screw in said one gear.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS

